Initiate Procurement
This section assumes that one of the outputs of your earlier work on definition of requirements was an Invitation to Tender (ITT). Refer back to "Defining What you Need" for ITT templates and examples. Within the education environment it is likely that any IT systems procurement will be subject to some form of tendering exercise. This may be required in order to comply with your own financial regulations or, in the case of major purchases, to comply with EU regulations. It is all too easy to see the tendering process as a bureaucratic nightmare when, properly used, it can be of great help in the decision making process.
You are advised to seek early assistance from your own procurement officer and/or legal advisers to ensure that you select the most appropriate procurement route. Should you be subject to the EU process there is a choice of Open, Negotiated and Restricted procedures. Correct choice of procedure is important in determining what type of evaluation process you can undertake e.g. whether you are legally able to shortlist or whether all suppliers who respond must be subject to the same evaluation. It is in your own interest to undertake some form of market analysis at an early stage of project initiation in order to have an idea how many potential suppliers may be able to meet your needs. Project deadlines may be thrown substantially out if you are obliged to evaluate far more suppliers than you had planned for.
See more on EU procurement legislation and guidelines.
N.B. In some circumstances institutions may be able to procure IT systems via a GCat agreement. (GCat is a catalogue based procurement scheme originally designed to provide public sector organisations with a simplified means of procuring, and contracting for a wide range of IT and Telecommunications products and related services.) This may occasionally increase the speed of the process but is subject to an administrative premium.
Whichever procurement route you use it is important to ensure you understand the technicalities of the process. Failure to observe correct procedure can result in a legal challenge from a supplier which can cause delay to your project and ultimate financial loss.
In many cases there will be a "waiting" period between placing the advert and issuing tender documentation during which suppliers will prepare their responses. Don't worry - your team will have plenty of work to do preparing for the evaluation stage of the project - read on.
